03.29.05
Kathy Barnstorff
Langley Research Center
(Office: 757/864-9886/Cellular: 757/344-8511)
Megan Steele
Virginia Air & Space Center, Hampton, Va.
(Office: 757/727-0900, ext. 730)
RELEASE: 05-019
EXPLORE LIVING AND WORKING IN SPACE WITHOUT LEAVING THE GROUND
NASA is bringing the excitement of human spaceflight to the Virginia
Air & Space Center in Hampton, April 3-17, giving visitors the
opportunity to learn about the International Space Station -- the
world's only orbiting laboratory. Visitors will board the interactive
exhibit, "Space Station Imagination," to catch a glimpse of how
astronauts live and work in space.
The Space Station is a critical stepping-stone for the Vision for
Space Exploration. NASA's research efforts on orbit focus on the
effects of microgravity on the human body. This will help us learn
how to prepare astronauts and spacecraft for long-duration missions
to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
The Vision for Space Exploration includes returning the Shuttle safely
to flight, completing the International Space Station, developing and
testing a new exploration vehicle, and embarking on extended human
missions to the Moon. NASA will return to the Moon as a first step to
opening the Solar System to further exploration and demonstrating our
ability to live and work on another world.
Space Station Imagination is comprised of two 48-foot trailers linked
in an L-shape to form two modules of the Space Station: the
Habitation Module, or living quarters, where the astronauts sleep,
eat and tend to personal hygiene, and the Laboratory Module where
multiple microgravity experiments are performed. Visitors do not see
exact replicas of what the modules look like but rather examples of
features of the Habitation and Laboratory modules.
Animatronics "astronaut" Dr. Emily greets visitors as she awakens to
start her day on board this international orbiting laboratory.
Displays show how a space toilet and shower work like vacuum cleaners
with very little gravity, as well as how astronauts eat and sleep
aboard the Space Station. A centrifuge displays how scientists might
study the effects of varying levels of gravity on plants, animals and
materials.
Using some actual footage from the Space Station, three video
presentations, about five minutes in length, entertain and inform
viewers with the story of human space exploration and the
International Space Station Program. The complete tour of the exhibit
takes about 20 minutes.
The Space Station Imagination exhibit will be located at the Virginia
Air & Space Center, 600 Settler's Landing Rd., Hampton, Va. It will
be open to the public from April 3-17 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., except
on Sundays when Space Station Imagination will open at noon. The
exhibit is accessible to people with disabilities.
For more information on Space Station Imagination, visit:
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/programs/exhibits/trailers/
For more information on NASA and its programs, visit:
www.nasa.gov
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